For Partners & Providers

Successful treatment of TB is dependent on good communication between our staff, health care providers and the state TB program.

By law, you must notify us of anyone with suspected or confirmed TB within 24 hours of diagnosis. This includes medical providers, infection control providers, and laboratories. Routine follow up visits must also be reported.

What to Report

Clinicians and laboratories must report:

  • Clinical suspicion of TB (Pulmonary or Extrapulmonary)
  • A smear from any site that is positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB)
  • A nucleic acid-based assay positive for M. tuberculosis complex
  • A positive culture for M. tb complex
  • Biopsy, pathology, or autopsy findings consistent with active TB
  • A patient being treated with anti-TB medications for suspected or confirmed TB
  • Any positive TB test (TB Skin test or TB Blood test/IGRA)
  • Any patient being treated with anti-TB medications for Latent TB Infection
  • Any patient who has finished treatment for Latent TB Infection

Outpatient Follow-Up:

Clinicians are required to report:

  • Continuation, discontinuation, completion and other outcomes of patient treatment (for Active OR Latent TB).
  • Contacts of active TB cases who are receiving treatment for TB Infection.

When to Report

  • Patients with active or suspected cases of TB in Dane County must be reported to us within 24 hours of diagnosis.  
  • People with latent TB in Dane County must be reported to us within 72 hours.  
  • Any follow-up on people with active, suspected or latent TB must also be reported to us. This includes starting treatment AND completing treatment. 

How to Report

People with Active/Suspected TB

  • During normal business hours (Monday - Friday, 7:45 am - 4:30 pm):
    • Call the TB on call nurse at (608) 266-4821, or
    • Fax a notification to (608) 266-4858. If faxing, please also call TB nurse to confirm receipt of fax at number above.
  • Outside of normal business hours:
    • Call (608) 267-3913
      • If the line is busy, DO NOT leave a message. Hang up and try calling again in a few minutes. We may be working on a critical incident.

People with Latent TB

*To report a positive TB test, fax the LTBI reporting form to us at (608) 266-4858.

LTBI Reporting Form

*To order LTBI treatment through the health department, fax the LTBI Medication request form to us at (608) 266-4858.

LTBI Medication Request Form

*To report LTBI treatment through a providers office, fax the LTBI follow up form to us at (608) 266-4858.

LTBI Follow Up Form

Latent TB Infection Treatment Options

Next Steps

Isolation:

If the patient is symptomatic, instruct them on isolation precautions:

  • They must stay home until appropriate follow up is received (provider follow up, CXR, sputum collection, etc.)
  • They are not allowed to go out in public (this includes school, work, church, large gatherings, etc.)
  • They may go outside for fresh air and have home windows open, if desired.

Make sure they have masks to wear for the ride home and to medical appointments, etc.

Follow Up:

  • Refer the patient to an Infectious Disease provider (or other provider who will manage TB care).
  • Order a chest X-ray.
  • Notify us.
  • A Public Health Nurse will follow up with patient on the next business day to assess the need for home sputum collection.

Forms

Treatment Guidelines

Additional Information and Education

2023 Wisconsin Virtual TB Summit Recordings and Materials

Thanks to everyone who attended our 2023 Wisconsin Virtual TB Summit! You can watch sessions on the Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development course page. To access session presentations, recordings, and evaluations, follow these instructions to create a ce.mayo.edu account and register for any or all 2023 Wisconsin Virtual TB Summit sessions. Our panelists answered the questions we didn't get to during our Q&A session in this document.

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